Roll out the barrel... 2021-style!
Exploding 70s party favourite is back ... but now you don’t need a screwdriver to open it
It was among the least welcome sights at a Seventies party, along with Hirondelle wine and your friend’s collection of Boney M records.
But, to the probable dismay of many, Watneys Party Seven is making a comeback.
Despite being promoted in TV adverts by the likes of Michael Caine and Peter Cook, the large red and gold can was ridiculed at the time for the bland, fizzy ‘draught’ bitter inside.
It was also notorious for spraying beer all over the kitchen when punctured with a tin-opener – or, in desperation, a screwdriver. that was unless you wanted to buy a special tap that cost the equivalent of £40 at today’s prices.
the barrel- shaped seven-pint can disappeared in the Eighties with the advent of the six-pack – individual ring-pull cans that were frequently used as makeshift ashtrays – but is clearly still fondly remembered by some.
the good news for drinkers is that the new mini-keg, which contains 5 litres, or 8.8 pints, incorporates a tap to avoid mess, while the makers promise the beer has been improved to reflect today’s taste for craft ales. It is also stronger, with an ABV of 4.2 per cent rather than the original 3 per cent.
However, the sobering news is that the revamped Party Seven costs around £25 – compared with just £1 in 1974.
It has been launched by Nick Whitehurst, who with two friends helped revive the Watneys brand five years ago. they began producing a range of craft beers with names such as Sarcasm and Irony – to reflect Watneys’ previous image problem.
Beer critics who derided Party Seven in the Sixties and Seventies had been even more scathing about another Watneys product, Red Barrel, a keg beer sold in pubs. the rise of real ale saw the brand fade from view, until Mr Whitehurst came along.
An original Watneys brewer, Philip Downes, 57, oversees production. However, as the pub trade has been hit hard by the pandemic, for the moment the brewery is concentrating on canned beer. So Mr Whitehurst decided it was time to act on suggestions they bring back the Party Seven. He said: ‘It’s out of necessity after the rest of our business shut down overnight last March.
‘We felt we couldn’t give up on Watneys without first trying the Party Seven, given people’s affection for it. We’ve heard so many anecdotes. Many’s the story of old Party Sevens exploding and hitting the ceiling when people tried to open them.
‘Lots of people remember drinking it at house parties, get-togethers, music festivals and football away-days. We’re providing a link back to happier times and it’s also a trip down memory lane for many people. We heard from one guy whose parents met because they were at a party when his father opened a Party Seven and it splashed over the woman next to him. She became his wife.
‘We want it to appeal to people who remember drinking it years ago – but have updated the ingredients so we can also appeal to a new crowd. We have been delighted with the feedback we have had so far.’
One fan of the new Party Seven is Daily Mail reader Justin Barry, 55. Company director Mr Barry, from Allington, Lincolnshire, who enjoyed ‘three or four kegs over Christmas’ with wife Alison, 48, said: ‘ It’s quite nostalgic. It reminds me of going to Christmas parties in the 1970s. I remember following my dad as he carried a Party Seven under his arm.
‘It’s the next best thing to a pint in the pub. I think it’ll catch on when we are allowed to have parties once again. You also have to pour it into a glass, so it feels like a proper pint.’
the new Party Sevens are produced on Merseyside and are on sale via www.party-seven.com.